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As the festive season is upon us, there is a word of warning for anyone thinking of conferring a gift of cosmetic surgery on their loved one.
USA Today carries a story about the current trend in America for giving cosmetic surgery as a present. It cites the example of Tina Baldwin,a 48 year old woman from New Jersey who was thrilled this fall when her husband gave her an early holiday present: any cosmetic surgery she wanted. She chose liposuction.
The story goes on to add "As others like Baldwin gear up to look their best for the holiday season, cosmetic surgery centers nationwide are offering gift-giving specials, where anything from wrinkle-reducing Botox injections to breast implants can be credited to the gift giver.
Experts are mixed about the medical ethics of conferring and receiving such gifts. All agree it should be done with caution."It's not perfume, a piece of jewelry or a spa treatment. Giving cosmetic surgery as a gift trivializes a serious medical procedure," says David Sarwer, an associate professor of psychology at the Center for Human Appearance at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
"The giver may have good intentions, but it could place undo pressure on the person on the receiving end," Sarwer says.
The gift giver may also offend the recipient, says Zachary Gerut, a Long Island plastic surgeon and assistant clinical professor at Albert Einstein Medical Center in New York. He says it's not uncommon for a husband to bestow the gift of a breast implant upon his wife this time of year. "Why don't you just insult the poor lady and be done with it? It's like telling someone they have bad breath," he says.
Good point. As is the perennial problem of some gifts not lasting too long - Some gifts may not last, either. Gerut calls Botox and other wrinkle quellers "the gifts that keep on taking." He says: "You have to come back every six months for treatments because they wear off."
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